ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Innovative water treatment for azole degradation: a short review of processing techniques and performances

Shaoqing Zhang, Fei Gao, Wenli Wang, and Qifeng Liu

School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Huhhot, China

E-mail: ndlqf@imu.edu.cn

Received: 23 February 2025  Accepted: 20 November 2025

Abstract:

Ensuring clean water quality is crucial for human health and environmental sustainability. The persistence of azole compounds—a class of antifungal agents (e.g., fluconazole, ketoconazole, miconazole)—in aquatic systems presents significant challenges to water quality management due to their endocrine-disrupting effects, contribution to antibiotic resistance, and resistance to conventional degradation. This review systematically examines recent advances in azole removal technologies, including UV photolysis, UV-Fenton, anode oxidation, photocatalysis (using metal oxides like TiO₂ and ZnO), ozonation, electrochemical oxidation, and adsorption. Key findings show that vacuum UV (VUV) and UVC-enhanced photolysis achieve complete (100%) degradation of certain azoles, while the UV-Fenton process degrades over 80% of miconazole under optimized conditions. Boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode oxidation demonstrates exceptional efficacy, eliminating 100% of Imazalil, tebuconazole, and penconazole within 60 min. Photocatalytic degradation using TiO₂ achieves > 80% ketoconazole removal, attributed to enhanced charge separation and production of reactive oxygen species. Ozonation was proven to be a highly effective process is effective for some recalcitrant azoles, such as 99.1% removal of climbazole, while biodegradation shows species-dependent variability, with fluconazole exhibiting negligible removal. Adsorption and electrochemical oxidation also show high efficiency (70–95%) but need optimization for cost-effectiveness. Despite these advances, the combined use of processes, like hybrid photolysis-adsorption systems, remains unexplored. Further research should focus on understanding the degradation mechanisms, pathways, scalability over the life cycle, and developing standardized evaluation protocols across different water matrices. This works a roadmap for advancing azole remediation technologies to support sustainable water resource management.

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Keywords: Azole degradation; Advanced oxidation processes; UV photolysis; UV-Fenton; Ozonation; Electrochemical oxidation

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-025-04540-4

Chemical Papers 80 (3) 2063–2082 (2026)